


Ghost

by PatchworkIdeas



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: A Story Written in One-Shots with no Planned Ending, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Not Related, But I'm not sure it counts when the Ghost of said Character is the Narrator and Main Character, Fluff, Gen, Ghosts, Some Humor, Supernatural Elements, Technically contains Major Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:34:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26949064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PatchworkIdeas/pseuds/PatchworkIdeas
Summary: This was not how how Fili expected his death to go. Or his afterlife.
Relationships: Fíli/Kíli (Tolkien)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter 1

“This is not how I thought I would die.”

Fili was ignored, except for a stray look that was most likely not actually directed at him.

Little wonder. He was staring at his own lifeless body after all. Not like the detective could listen to ghosts.

He followed the cute brunette regardless. He seemed interesting, and it was not like there was anything else Fili was in a hurry of doing. 

What did ghosts do anyway? Wasn’t he supposed to move on or something? Maybe he needed his death solved, but…

“There’s not much here to find, you know? Just bad luck.”

The brown eyes almost seemed to find his for a moment, before moving away again, taking in the rest of the scene.

It looked like a murder scene, true, but it wasn’t. He had tripped, tried to catch himself and started an unfortunate chain reaction that ended up with some of his priced collected swords and daggers pinning him to the floor.

Killed by his passion. Perhaps his friends and family had been right when they tried to tell him how weird his fascination with all kind of blades and weaponry was.  
Though this was probably not quite what they had in mind.

The detective kept looking for clues to his murderer. There wouldn’t be any.  
Fili just feverishly hoped that no one would get falsely accused due to this.

But something did feel weird.

The brunette kept glancing in his direction, before almost rhetorically mumbling a question into the room, seemingly deep in thought, trying to connect the dots.

Fili answered what he could, not that it would do much good, but hey...what else was he supposed to be doing? But the eyes kept finding his, for split seconds, unerringly.  
It was creepy. Despite Fili being the ghost here.

“Well? Any ideas yet?” One of the other, less fascinating men asked the detective.

Who proceeded to reconstruct the entire scene, as improbable as it had been.  
The other officers looked at him like he was crazy - still fully ignoring Fili.

Brown eyes met his, before facing the officers again. 

Fili had mentioned details, no reason not to, and the detective shouldn’t know them, but he did.

The man could see him. Hear him.  
It was the only explanation.

But he needed one last test, one last assurance.

Fili answered every single question the police had - and the detective repeated them without fail.

In the end, the man apparently in charge just shook his head, and waved the detective out, obviously sick of his “ridiculous theories”.  
Mr. Durinson, as the detective was apparently called, advised them to do the tests that would prove his words, but left easily enough - if with lots of theatrics, eye rolls and hand waving.

Fili followed. The door closed through him. It was the oddest feeling he had ever had. But while he wanted to know what the police would end up with, this seemed more important.

“Idiots. You would think if they ask for help they would be willing to accept it. But there wasn’t anything in there that could be used in a case against one of your friends, no need to worry. Though I’m afraid you are going to end up another cold case. Sorry.”

Mr. Durinson didn’t look at Fili, instead fiddling with the small in-ear headset and looking straight ahead, moving along the busy sidewalks.

“How the hell can you see me? Or remain so calm! What is going on? Who are you?”

This got him a brief look again.

“I don’t know, I’ve just always been able to. Got used to it. I occasionally help out in cases as an independent detective. Please call me Kili. We’ll talk more when I get home. I dislike talking on busy streets like this, too loud.”

There was a strange disconnect to his words, odd pauses, answers obviously altered to account for eventual eavesdroppers.  
To be able to see ghosts his whole life, without having been declared insane for it…

Fili followed, silently. No need to make Kili’s life more complicated.  
He had all the time in the world now, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let myself be inspired by the spooky season and ended up with something lighthearted anyway X-D  
> What can I say, I know what I like! :-D  
> There's 2 more chapters already drafted, hence the fluff tag, though I don't have any particular ending in mind yet. But it's a fun little verse to play in.


	2. Chapter 2

Fili prepared the tea the same way he had seen Kili do it countless times. He had to concentrate to make sure he didn’t drop anything - even months after his death it was way too easy to just… phase through stuff when he wasn’t paying attention.

By now, being able to touch things was almost weirder than just moving through them. It was astonishing how easy he had gotten used to being a ghost. 

It had been even more astonishing the first time he realized it didn’t have to be that way.

He couldn’t always interact with things. In the beginning, he could talk with Kili, but that was pretty much it. It was only when Kili almost tripped over one of his kitten ghosts that Fili realized that ghosts could interact with Kili in _every_ way. 

He still wondered how ghosts felt like to Kili. Kili felt warm to him, almost unnaturally so, like the essence of summer under his finger tips. 

Fili had asked Kili about it, but the answers hadn’t been very helpful - cool but not cold, tingling but without being weird, alive but not in the same way - and so he eventually just accepted the insurance that it wasn’t a bad feeling, just different.

Perhaps it should have been weird, when Kili offered to hug him back then. They had been almost strangers. But it hadn’t been. It had just felt nice.

Kili always drank tea. In the morning, on the way to work, when sitting in his office, staring at things even Fili couldn’t see. 

Kili was a mystery. 

But he was also kind, and funny, with plenty of ideas and stories. Despite the loneliness Fili should have experienced - being essentially invisible, dead, to everyone but Kili - he found himself charmed by the quirky brunette, eager to learn and experience more.

Despite that, he hadn’t really expected any big changes anymore. What bigger change then death could there be? He had counted himself lucky to have met Kili, to not be completely alone, and that had been that.

Until Kili had found an exceptionally interesting article, and had zoned out halfway through instead of further scrolling down.

It had been an instinct, from a life past, to reach over Kili’s shoulder and do it himself.

Fili had been halfway through the article before he realized what he had done.

They tested it out after that. 

At first, he could only interact with objects when he was also touching Kili, and only tiny things, like that touch pad. But over time, he could start writing again, could lift things - even when Kili wasn’t in the room.

Distance was still important though - the farther away Kili was, the harder it got.  
Only a few days ago, Fili had lifted a giant metal beam off of Kili’s leg after a run in with an unreasonable and vengeful ghost (Fili had made short work of him afterwards, the sword that had once killed him steady and deadly in his hand.) but now, with Kili stuck in his room with a broken leg and clear orders not to leave the bed, even the kettle felt almost unbearably heavy in his hands.

Still, concentrating intensely, he lifted it and poured the boiling water into Kili’s favorite mug. It had cartoon kittens on it.

Carefully avoiding the tiny furred devils that roamed their home - always eager to be petted, or to get underfoot - he carried it up the stairs into Kili’s room.

Fili felt drained afterwards, but it was a small price to pay for the bright, _alive_ , smile Kili gave him.


	3. Chapter 3

“What do you think you need to move on?”

Fili looked at Kili sideways, noting the way he was folded into himself, steeled for a blow he was certain he needed to take for Fili’s sake.

He huffed. Kili could be silly sometimes. But he supposed it wasn’t a wonder after the last few weeks, spent helping a nice, nurturing mother move on after proving her kids would be okay.

“I don’t want to move on. I’m happy here with you.”

Fili made sure to look Kili in the eyes, hoping the massage might sink in this time. He saw the beginning of hope blooming in brown eyes - and the shutters fall, Kili all but flinching, when his own thoughts, his own experiences, made him doubt again.

Fili didn’t press. It wouldn’t work. Instead he pulled Kili into a headlock, tousling his hair, while proclaiming: “You didn’t think you would get rid of me so easily, did you?”

Fili wasn’t a poltergeist - if anything he was a guardian spirit, a protector - but if jokes and laughter made the pain in Kili’s eyes go away, then Fili would rattle his nonexistent chains and break the ugly angel figurines Kili’s mother always sent for his birthday.

Anything to make him happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While I have a good idea for how this universe works, I don’t have anymore scenes jumping out at me right now. So if there’s something you would like me to explore more, let me know.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for [mina86](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mina86/pseuds/mina86) and [cpmwjune](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cpmwjune/pseuds/cpmwjune)!

“How do you always get yourself into these situations?!”

“It’s not like I asked to be able to see ghosts! Not my fault not all of them are friendly! Now keep running!”

Fili knew exactly how they had gotten into this situation - like they always did really.  
He knew Kili _tried_ to keep his distance and silence around obviously disturbed ghosts in their vicinity. But he had a big heart first and foremost, and sometimes they didn’t catch the signs until too late.

Or, as had been happening more and more lately, someone picked a fight with Fili, and Kili refused to stay out of it.

(It would have been charming, perhaps, if Kili hadn’t been a whole lot more fragile - well, a whole lot more _alive_ \- than Fili was. Getting a psychos attention was never a good thing. Getting a psychos attention that no one else could see? Now _that_ was a problem - and one that always made Fili glad that he knew how to handle the swords that had killed him.)

Or, there were cases like today.

They had been taking a stroll, Fili insisting they should enjoy the beauty of the season, autumn painting the trees in vibrant shades of red, orange and yellow.

At first he had thought the little girl was still alive, just lost. Until he saw her face, crumbling, turning into inky black around the edges.  
Gruesome deaths left their marks on people.

And of course, Kili couldn’t let it rest. The girl was just days away from turning into something actually dangerous, days away from not being savable, and Kili would have never forgiven himself.

And now here they were. In a tunnel system under the city, running from both a living killer and a cadre of insane ghosts, bend on nothing but death. Fili was no slouch, but there was no way he could handle all of them at the same time. 

Absolutely nothing had gone as planned, including the police not showing up for their anonymous tip and being found by the actual killer while doing reconnaissance.

Luckily, they weren’t completely out of plans yet.

Kili put on another burst of speed beside him, eyes intent on the small circle of light before them. Fili followed suit, the drill by now so often repeated that it had become second nature. He ran through the entrance, and Kili whirled around and spilled the rest of the salt, completing the giant glyph.

The ghosts followed, and burst apart at the seam the moment they tried to cross it.  
They weren’t dead - well, deader - and they would have to take care of them afterwards, but for now that gave them time - and left them fighting only the living at least.

The man crossed the line without a second thought, his supposed next victim in his sights. 

Kili knew how to fight - dirty mostly. He wasn’t helpless. But he also had no interest in proving that against an actual murderer, much to Fili’s relief.

Fili shuddered to think in what kind of trouble Kili had gotten himself before Fili had been around to help him out of it.

Backing up into the middle of the glyph, to hopefully keep the lines from being smudged in the coming fight, they grabbed each other’s hand, and held on tight.

It had been a challenge, learning to fight like that, but the contact was still the only way Fili could reliably do some actual damage to a living being. He just wasn’t meant for murder.

Fili summoned his sword in his free hand and waited until the murderer - grinning, sure he had Kili cornered - came in range.

Then he attacked.

The sword, usually intangible to anything but ghosts, passed through the mans body, leaving him screaming when he stumbled back.

Going on the attack, Kili followed Fili’s lead. It should have been easy with the mans eyes on Kili, rather than on his actual attacker. But while Fili kept unerringly hitting the mans heart - surely causing him immeasurable pain that would lead to a heart attack before long - Kili’s would be killer was more accustomed to pain - and insane enough to fight through it - than they had anticipated.

It took minutes, countless attacks and desperate evasions until the man finally collapsed, twitching at their feet. Kili’s wrist was bleeding, red drops falling heavily onto the dusty ground, from where the killer had tried to cut off his hand - perhaps realizing it had something to do with his ghostly attacker.  
Kili dipped his fingers into the blood, and solemnly drew a glyph on the man’s forehead.

It wouldn’t stop him from coming back as a ghost - if there was a glyph for that, Kili hadn’t found it yet - but it would do something better.

Hopefully, if they hadn’t miscalculated.

Deliberately, Kili stepped close to the salt line, staring at the faceless, angry ghosts beyond.

“He’s yours. Do with him what you will. Just take him with you.”

And with a twitch of his foot, he broke the salt line.

Fili felt the moment it’s power ceased to work, the chains holding him in this space and the other ghosts outside it ripping apart. He forced himself to stay still, just a silent, deadly shadow at Kili’s back, when the ghostly mass surged forward-  
And passed them by, screaming, howling, thirsting for the blood of their murderer, now at their mercy. The bloody storm reached it’s crescendo, and Fili could feel the burning at his back, so different from Kili’s welcome, healing warmth.

Then there was nothing.

No ghosts remained. The silence only broken by Kili’s breathing, and the steady dripping of his blood.  
Fili took a shuddering breath he didn’t need, glad once again that they never, ever started any investigation without a nearby prepared safe space. Reluctantly, he turned around, leaving Kili’s warmth behind for a cold that ran shivers down his spine, a feeling he could only compare to the sensual equivalent of nails on chalkboard.  
He tried not to look too close at the dark spot on the ground, only seeing from the edge of his eyes how the angry red faded until only an ugly burn mark remained where a body had been.

He knew why Kili didn’t turn around, why Fili had to grab their bag and hastily wind a bandage around Kili’s wrist. He would have to redo it again, once they were outside, but Kili’s shivers and the uneven breaths told him leaving immediately was more important than finesse right now.

He hated how these scars in the world felt, but he could only imagine what Kili must see and feel around them, senses open to so much more than even Fili, released from his mortal limitations, could comprehend.

It was only when they were back at home, safe and sound, that Kili’s breathing calmed again.  
For two days Fili insisted he stay in bed and recover, to let the shivers pass and the vomiting stop.  
And it took them finding the little teddy bear, clean as a whistle, arms outstretched in a hug, in the place a little girl had once been, to make him smile again.

The bear went to Kili’s other odds and ends, little reminders that he could make a difference, that his gift wasn’t just a curse.

In time, the scar on the world would heal, just like Kili himself would.  
Eventually, he would go back to laughing openly and helping everyone again.  
And someday, it would just be another nightmare, forgotten in the light of dawn.

Until then, and every day after, Fili would stay with Kili, take care of him, make him laugh, hold him through the nightmares, and prove to him again and again that he wasn’t alone. And never would be again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That went even better than I hoped! Thank you so much for the prompts!  
> I have two more chapters that will be posted in the next few days, but I'm open for further questions and suggestions!
> 
> On a related note: does someone want to name a cuddly kitten ghost?


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for [mina86](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mina86/pseuds/mina86)!

“Don’t you want to...”

“Nope.” Fili said, popping the p. He probably wasn’t as sad as one was supposed to be at a funeral, but he had already said all his goodbyes and his own experience of ghostlyhood had helped him overcome the old, mortal fear of death. Still, it would be awfully rude to miss his grandpa’s funeral, considering he had probably been around for Fili’s. 

Fili had sought him out after finding his obituary in the newspaper. His grandpa had been wandering around the house, trying to comfort their mourning family and making inappropriate jokes while they prepared his funeral.

(Fili had kinda missed that part of his own death, but figured he preferred the happy memories of his loved ones anyway.)

There had been nothing really tragic about it - grandpa had been old, and nobody was really surprised that he had fallen asleep and not woken up again one day.

They had their reunion, Grandpa very interested in finally figuring out what had actually caused Fili death - and laughing hysterically while trying to scold him at the same time once he did. 

(Fili hadn’t ask what had happened since his own death. He had left that life behind, and ghosts holding onto something they couldn’t have never ended well.) 

It had surprised his grandpa, when he found out Fili was just there to make his passing easier, to make sure he would be alright, and wouldn’t be joining him in whatever afterlife there was. 

His grandpa had offered of course. 

Offered to take Fili with him to the other side, to spend time with him and grandma until the rest of the family joined - but Fili had declined with a laugh, assuring him he was fine where he was, and had plenty of reasons to stay yet. He would follow later, much later he hoped, and bring a friend and plenty of stories with him when he did. 

Grandpa had just grinned at him and laughed, happy Fili had found someone worth staying for, late as it might be.

“Fili...”

“No. Listen to me Kili. I love my grandpa, but that doesn’t mean I have to join him now. And I love my family, but they are still alive, and have mourned me and moved on. And none of that changes that I don’t want to leave. I’m _glad_ that I met you. Even if the circumstances could have been better.” Fili chuckled, a happy little sound, no remorse or pain left anymore. 

“I’m going to see them off, make sure they aren’t scared when they go. Make sure they know I’m alright. But I’m not leaving with them. I’m not leaving without you, so stop worrying, alright?”

In the distance, hidden among the crying funeral guests and the priest doing the last rites, a blinding flash signaled his grandpa’s departure.

“Come on, let’s leave before anyone tries to ask you how you knew him. Maybe we could go for ice-cream on the way back?”

He couldn’t fully taste it yet, not the way he used to, but Kili’s laugh and the way he blushed when Fili hugged him close to steal a lick was more important than the taste anyway.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A note about former chapter 5: I don’t like how angsty and sad it turned out, and it doesn’t fit how I see Kili either, so I’m removing it. For those who liked the chapter, they’ll be able to find it in “Diamonds in the Rough”.   
> For this story, none of that happened, just a bad dream, and Kili has a perfectly normal relationship with his parents - even if his mother keeps sending him heinous angel figurines as an inside joke. Why should Dads be the only one with the odd humor?

“Who’s that handsome fella with you?” Kili’s elderly neighbor asked him.

Fili froze - as did Kili, for just a second, though he luckily caught himself sooner.

“He’s a good friend of mine.” It sounded almost smooth.

There was no one else in the staircase but them.

The little chat was over before Fili got his racing thoughts under control, and the lost opportunity chafed at him - until he saw Kili’s blush, and the way the old lady was chuckling and smiling widely at them. Perhaps this was one conversation he didn’t mind missing, especially with how keenly aware he was of the warm, welcome hand in his, holding fast without even a hint of hesitation.

They had been holding hands more and more often lately, almost without thought. It was comfortable, it felt right, and Fili loved the way Kili would blush and smile when he reached out.

It hadn’t been about his powers strengthening - he was happy where they were at. He hadn’t expected anything else to change again. 

Perhaps he should have.

“Who else, do you think...” he croaked out after they were safely locked into their own flat. Kili looked like a rabbit in headlights, eyes wide, breath fast.

“She’s old, it might be… But what if it isn’t? Maybe it’s just her? But if she could always see you, wouldn’t she have said something before? And I have never met anyone who could see ghosts while close to death themselves, that not how it _works!_ And-”

Fili let him ramble on, theories coming up and debunked just as fast. Kili would probably research through the night again if Fili let him. For now he sank onto the sofa, attention on his hand. He hadn’t noticed when he first moved something, though he learned to control it later through training and deliberation. He hadn’t been able to protect Kili from mortal threats initially, but he could now.  
Could he learn to do this? Deliberately? To be seen and heard and live normally again?

The sudden urge to see his family, to introduce Kili, to explain everything rose in him, and he squashed it ruthlessly. That way lay madness. They had moved on, and that life was gone, at least until both him and Kili passed on together.

This wasn’t returning to life, he didn’t feel any different.

But she had seen him. She had _seen_ him.

And she had pretty much instantly known how they felt.

It wasn’t hard, he supposed, he did wear his heart on his sleeve around Kili - he deserved to know how much Fili adored him, that he was loved unconditionally. 

But he hadn’t been able to show it to anyone else, to let the world know that Kili was loved. Take him on dates, walk down the street talking, hold hands and bump shoulders and be that obviously sappy in love that couples got to be.

He had learned to be happy despite the limitations, but perhaps there weren’t as many as he had once believed.  
Or maybe it was a one time thing, like Kili was currently considering.

Either way, he knew what he wanted to do - had wanted to for quite some time, except that he hadn’t felt like he could offer Kili everything he deserved. He knew he still couldn’t, but Kili had blushed - and he hadn’t let go.

He hadn’t said no.

Slowly he rose and made his way closer until Kili bumped into him in his pacing. The rambling cut off, a sharp inhale, eyes contracted and stayed on his, a quick tongue over lips, quick enough he almost missed it.

He leaned forward, and Kili mirrored him.

“May I kiss you?” A whisper, a last confirmation, a certainty that he could have everything after all.

Kili smiled and bridged the distance.


End file.
